MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte is now facing an arrest warrant after a Quezon City court found probable cause to proceed with three counts of grave threats linked to her controversial remarks involving President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 98 issued the warrant on Friday, September 4, 2026, according to reports from Duterte’s legal counsel and multiple Philippine news organizations.
The development adds another major legal battle for Duterte, who is simultaneously facing an impeachment trial before the Senate.
Malacañang, meanwhile, said it respects the court’s decision.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the executive branch would respect the independence of the judiciary and would not interfere with the court’s action against the Vice President.
The arrest warrant stems from criminal charges filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) after an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) into Duterte’s statements during an online press briefing.
Court Finds Probable Cause
According to Philstar.com, the Quezon City court denied Duterte’s motion seeking to defer or recall the arrest warrant and to quash the criminal information.
The court determined that there was probable cause to hold Duterte for trial on three counts of grave threats.
Bail was set at P120,000 for each count, meaning the total amount for the three charges would be P360,000 if bail is posted separately for all counts.
The issuance of an arrest warrant, however, does not mean Duterte has been found guilty. The criminal case must still proceed through the judicial process, and she remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Duterte Camp Challenges Court’s Jurisdiction
Duterte’s lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim, confirmed that the warrant had been issued but said the Vice President would continue pursuing her legal remedies.
“Regardless of the question on jurisdiction,” Lim said, Duterte “has no intention of evading the law” and will continue to challenge the matter through available legal channels.
The Vice President’s lawyers previously argued that the regular courts should not proceed against a sitting impeachable official while an impeachment process is underway.
Their motion to quash the charges was based largely on the question of jurisdiction.
The defense had also asked the court to defer the issuance of any arrest warrant while that issue was being considered.
The court ultimately rejected that position.
Case Traces Back to Duterte’s Controversial Remarks
The criminal case concerns Duterte’s November 23, 2024 online press conference, during which she said she had spoken to a person and instructed that President Marcos, First Lady Araneta-Marcos and then-House Speaker Romualdez be killed if she herself were killed.
Duterte has maintained that her statements were taken out of context and were not an actual assassination order.
The NBI, however, reached a different assessment.
During congressional proceedings earlier this year, NBI officials testified that investigators considered the statements serious and examined not only the words themselves but also their context, manner of delivery and surrounding circumstances.
An NBI cybercrime investigator also testified that the video used in the proceedings had been authenticated through digital-forensic procedures, including comparison with the original livestream and the generation of a hash value intended to establish the integrity of the recording.
DOJ Filed Criminal Charges in August
The DOJ formally filed the grave threats case before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court on August 11, 2026.
At the time, DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said the case was based on the same matter previously referred by the NBI and that it was also connected to allegations raised during Duterte’s impeachment proceedings.
Prosecutors recommended P120,000 bail for the Vice President.
The DOJ’s criminal case is separate from the impeachment proceedings before the Senate.
That distinction has become central to the legal battle because Duterte’s defense has argued that her status as an impeachable officer raises constitutional questions about the authority of a regular trial court to prosecute her while she remains in office.
Government prosecutors have maintained that the criminal proceeding and impeachment process are separate legal tracks.
Palace: Government Will Respect the Court
The latest development puts Malacañang in the position of responding to a criminal case involving the sitting Vice President while President Marcos himself is one of the alleged targets referenced in the underlying controversy.
The Palace said it respects the Quezon City court’s decision.
That response signals that Malacañang intends to leave the matter to the judicial process rather than publicly challenge the issuance of the warrant.
Another Legal Battle for Duterte
The arrest warrant comes as Duterte is already facing an impeachment trial in the Senate.
The alleged threats against Marcos, the First Lady and Romualdez are included among the allegations raised in the impeachment proceedings.
Other impeachment allegations involve the alleged misuse of confidential funds, bribery and unexplained wealth.
The simultaneous criminal and impeachment proceedings create an unusually complicated legal and political situation for the Vice President.
For now, the immediate issue is the warrant issued by the Quezon City court.
Duterte’s legal team has indicated that it will continue pursuing available remedies, while authorities are expected to coordinate the next steps concerning the warrant and the posting of bail.
The bigger question now is what happens after the warrant: Will Duterte immediately post bail, continue challenging the court’s jurisdiction, or take another legal route that could push the constitutional issue even further?
The answer could shape not only Duterte’s legal fight, but also the next stage of the country’s ongoing political showdown.
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